The Guggenheim Picks Four Vancouver Film School Student Films for YouTube Play Shortlist

Vancouver, B.C. Canada – Four Vancouver Film School (VFS) student films were handpicked by the curatorial staff of the world-renowned Guggenheim Museum this week, beating out over 23,000 submissions to make the YouTube Play shortlist of just 125 videos. YouTube Play is a groundbreaking collaboration between YouTube and the Guggenheim, dubbed “A Biennial of Creative Video”, and seeks to unearth the world’s most exceptional talent that pushes the boundaries of music, film, and art.

The four shortlisted student films include two created in the one-year Classical Animation program at VFS and two more from the six-month VFS Digital Character Animation program. The films are now showing in kiosks at the Guggenheim museums in New York City, Berlin, Bilbao, and Venice, as well as online at youtube.com/play.

Up to 20 of these videos will be chosen by a jury of eleven luminaries, including designer Stefan Sagmeister and filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. The jurors’ top choices will be presented on October 21 at a special event at the Guggenheim and will be on show for public viewing at the museum’s Tower 2 gallery from October 22 through 24.

“These students manage amazing work in 6 short months and these particular pieces are shining examples of the quality and calibre of work that we strive towards and attain on a regular basis,” says Greg Berridge, senior instructor in Digital Character Animation at VFS. “The honour is truly deserved."

The four shortlisted student films signify the continued emergence of Vancouver Film School in the boundary-defying medium of online video. VFS has the number one school channel on YouTube (youtube.com/vancouverfilmschool), with over 29 million total views.

The 125 shortlisted videos represent 91 countries. Both of Mexico’s two representatives are VFS graduates.